LIFE - COLORES
INFINITUM (20)
It was indeed a good moment if
not the complete victory when, at that very moment, he looked back to reflect
on the fight that had begun almost 30 months ago. Like it happens in the final
lag of any journey, the delay of the final moments had started testing his
patience, his calm and his faith in his fight, but it came giving him some real
moments of thoughtlessness midst his soul getting disappeared in the rush of
the thoughts that prevailed at the moment.
It was the fifth day after his
case was listed for the verdict when the final order came sentencing the
accused to life imprisonment. As soon as the verdict came, he was ‘attacked’ by
the people for their pie; we can use alternate present day terms - tip or
gratitude or forced gesture that involves giving of what we call the
convenience fee. Though you might have been harassed to the core, these stupid
fellows ask for it as if it is their birthright.
These were the people being paid
for by the government for what they were doing but their debasement led them to
act like the corrupt menials of hell squeezing out every possible penny, be it
from the victims or the accused. Even if one thought to give something as token
of gratitude, their act was more than enough to make their very sight pungent
and repulsive; a sight he had been witness to for over two years.
He had lost someone close to the
cruel hands of life and had seen the accused dangling around free, out on bail,
making mockery of him on every subsequent court hearing day. Their body
language, their demeanor, the way their lawyers were treating the case, told
every bit that they were confident of walking free, of trading the law, of
making a brazen display of their audacity that how easily they killed a smiling
and trusting soul; that how easily they derailed many other associated lives;
and that how easily they were going to have a free run.
The wait of the five days, five
court hearing dates, had made him think otherwise while it had bolstered the
audacity of the accused. His lawyer who always sounded confident of sending at
least the main accused to his place had seen his views shadowed but soon his
knowledge-by-practice and opinionating-by-circumstances would come to brush it
off. But, he too, was not highly optimist about sentencing of the other
co-accused.
His other family members were a
more worried lot. Apart from the darker thoughts of having the accused free
run, they were consistently worried about security of their son or brother who
was traveling around 100 kilometers daily to wage this battle in a district
court room of India.
Given the past history of threat calls and similar moves, it was all quite
natural for them to think like it. He had tried to assuage their fear but he
knew it was of no use. But he also knew he had to continue with his fight.
While doing so, he was not
vindictive but he needed to see the perpetrators behind the bars. It was all
about giving the departed soul his peace by sending his killers to their
nemesis, legally and lawfully.
His lawyer used to say on the
delay that all this would go away once a positive verdict comes. And yes, the
judgement delivered was a satisfactory one. He felt his moment of calm that he
was looking for. He felt his lawyer was right when the judge sentenced all the
three co-accused to the life-imprisonment while slapping them with some more
prison terms under other different Sections of the Indian Penal Code.
He felt his tears gushing that he
could not do when it all had happened in March 2010. And still, he could not
allow them a free run, for he knows he has to reflect back on those 32 months,
for he knows it was just the first leg of his fight that he has been able to
win.